Prescott Model Train Show Raises Funds for Local Food Bank April 11
Prescott's 3rd annual model train show sends every admission and vendor-table dollar to the South Grenville Food Bank on April 11, with nearly 1,000 visitors and 45 vendors expected.
The Prescott Model Railway Group's 3rd Annual Model Train & Toy Show opens at the Leo Boivin Community Centre at 444 Prince St. on Saturday, April 11, with all proceeds from both door admissions and vendor table rentals going directly to the South Grenville Food Bank and other local charities. Organizer Stewart Reed is already "expecting a packed event," a forecast grounded in two years of evidence: previous editions drew close to 1,000 visitors and filled the floor with 45 vendors and roughly a dozen operating layouts.
Admission is $5 for adults; children 12 and under walk in free. Doors open at 10 a.m. and the show runs until 4 p.m., giving visitors six hours to work through a floor stocked with operating and static layouts, new merchandise, and used equipment across multiple scales. This is a cash-only event, so plan accordingly and bring small bills for vendor purchases.
The vendor mix skews toward the range that makes regional shows worth attending: pre-owned locomotives and rolling stock alongside current-production accessories, the kind of floor where a modeler might turn up a discontinued Atlas road slug and a first-timer can stock a starter layout without breaking the budget. Sellers benefit from organizer amenities that are uncommon at shows this size, including electrical power and Wi-Fi at vendor tables, modest table fees, and the option to set up the day before, which draws traveling vendors from across Eastern Ontario.
For families with young children, the operating layouts are the centerpiece: supervised, hands-on, and genuinely engaging for kids who have never seen a staging yard work in person. Serious shoppers chasing pre-owned finds will want to be at the doors by 10 a.m.; the best pieces on used tables tend to move within the first hour of any regional show.
The Leo Boivin Community Centre sits right behind Fort Wellington National Historic Site in downtown Prescott, which makes the April 11 show a natural anchor for a full day out in the St. Lawrence Valley. On the 2026 Ontario spring circuit, it slots neatly between the Lindsay & District show the prior weekend and the Woodstock Model Train Show on April 19, and for Eastern Ontario hobbyists it represents the most accessible charity-purpose show of the season.
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